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8 April 2014

Top Ten Tuesday - Top Ten Most Unique Books I've Read

'Top Ten Tuesday' is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. Lately I've seen some other book bloggers being quite enthusiastic about this weekly meme, so I decided to join in with the fun and try it out myself as well!

Top Ten Most Unique Books I've Read

Today's Top Ten Tuesday is a great one featuring the most unique books I've read. I know this is going to require a bit of thinking, because there are straight away a few books that pop into my mind but I am also pretty sure I will come across a few titles that belong on this list as soon as I go through the list of books I've read over the past few years. Which book do you immediately think of when you hear the word 'unique'? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

1. 'Harry Potter' series - J.K. Rowling

When talking about unique reads, I think Harry Potter will probably make an appearance on many people's lists. I can honestly say I'd never read anything like the Harry Potter stories before I read 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone', and I am pretty sure I won't read anything else in my life that will come close to this series. It's an incredibly amazing story with brilliant characters, so many details, so many emotions... I wish I could read these books for the first time again, because I haven't been able to get that unique feeling from any other book yet.

2. 'The Time Traveler's Wife' - Audrey Niffenegger

Another novel I'd label as 'unique' has to be 'The Time Traveler's Wife' by Audrey Niffenegger. It's quite an intense read and although I wouldn't say it was one of my all-time favourite books, it was definitely one of a kind and the story has managed to stay with me ever since.

3. 'If You Could See Me Now' - Cecelia Ahern

Within the chick lit world, Cecelia Ahern is an author with an incredibly distinctive style of writing. Her books have an enchanting and magical element to them which I fell in love with after having read 'If You Could See Me Now.' When I think of the word 'unique', Cecelia's story-telling immediately comes to mind, so she definitely belongs on this list!

4. 'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close' - Jonathan Safran Foer

I personally didn't really enjoy 'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close' while I know a lot of people consider this an absolutely amazing read. However, I have to agree with the fact that it is original and it wasn't like anything I'd read before.

5. 'The Dead Wife's Handbook' - Hannah Beckerman

Probably the most recent book on this list and one that was quite unique to me. 'The Dead Wife's Handbook' tells the story of Rachel, who died a year ago and is now able to occassionally look down at her family and friends, most importantly her husband Max and daughter Ellie. It's the first book I read completely told from the perspective of someone who's dead; someone who isn't in heaven or hell (if you believe in those places), but somewhere unknown, somewhere inbetween. A wonderful and original read.

6. 'My Life in Black and White' - Kim Izzo

I read Kim Izzo's 'My Life in Black and White' in 2013 and it was one of my favourite reads of that year. Once again, a very original novel and I personally haven't read anything quite like it before. The story takes place partly in real life and partly within the script of a film noir, which results in a thoroughly enjoyable and captivating reading experience.

7. 'Boy Meets Girl' - Meg Cabot

I love Meg Cabot. She has written so many amazing novels; I can't get enough of her books. I think a lot of people wouldn't probably describe her work as 'unique', but 'Boy Meets Girl' was unique to me because it was the first book I read in which the story was completely told through e-mails, journal entries, instant messages, scribbled notes, to-do lists, etc. I can distinctly remember how much I loved this way of telling a story and up to this day I get excited about books that only consist of letters/e-mails/diary entries... I don't know why exactly, but I just really enjoy it!

8. 'Persepolis' by Marjane Satrapi

I had to read Marjane Satrapi's 'Persepolis' for one of my university courses, and at first I wasn't quite sure whether I would enjoy it. However, as soon as I had actually bought a copy of the book I realised it was a graphic novel. It was the first graphic novel I read, and it was quite a new and unique experience to me. I really enjoyed it and promised myself I'd pick up more graphic novels in the future, but unfortunately I haven't read one after 'Persepolis.' If anyone has any recommendations, I'd love to hear them!

9. Nicholas Sparks - 'The Last Song'

Another author on this list which I don't expect many people will describe as 'unique', but this once again has a personal meaning behind it. Nicholas Sparks is one of the only authors who is able to actually make me cry with his stories. This hardly ever happens; I can get quite emotional while reading a good story, but actual tears hardly ever appear. Except for Nicholas Sparks' love stories, who almost always leave me with a few tears on my cheeks, especially 'The Last Song'!

10. Louisa M. Alcott - 'Little Women'

And last but certainly not least, Louisa May Alcott's 'Little Women.' A novel I'd describe as unique because it holds a really special place in my heart. It has been one of my favourite novels for as long as I can remember, and I love this story so much... It's unique in its own way, and no other novel can be compared to it, if you ask me.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is sitting on my bookshelf. I picked it up at a free book swap (seriously as magical as it sounds) since someone near me encouraged me to do so. I just don't know if it will ever really spark me to read it, but maybe one day.

Persepolis was my first graphic novel too!!! I just read it recently and am now looking for more graphic novels to read (there is a sequel to that book, so I might look into that). I also really want to read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close one of these days. I gotta be in the mood for the emotions though!! Great List!